Flash Of The Moment

Current events are often immortalized in the public eye by numerous methods. On TV, events and individuals are parodied or ridiculed by comedy shows, such as SNL and late night talk shows, and by "news" shows in the vein of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. In newspapers you often see people and events lambasted via the political cartoon medium and the op-ed section. The internet is a great place to find commentary on what's happening today. You have a myriad of choices available from sites like The Onion and Jib Jab to see commentary and have a little fun. And that's not all.

A fairly new and popular form of expression these days is a little more interactive than past efforts. Flash games aren't just for entertainment anymore. Just do a Google search on a celebrity that's been in the news for any embarrassing reason and I'm pretty sure you'll find a flash game for the offending incident. I found a site with a pretty good variety of games, a lot of them directed at misbehaving celebs.

Celebrity misadventures aren't the only fodder for flash games. Taking a look at the list of games on addictinggames.com's celebrity listings I see a few election games, celebrity smack downs, various movie related games and even a couple of the dress up type. Most of these games were relatively easy to make and are simple to play. The point of making a game like this is not to make a great game, but to bring awareness to a situation or to a specific idiot. Most flash games are made simply to have a bit of fun, often times at someone else's expense. Occasionally these games upset the subject, but they just need to remember one thing, it's just a game. These games do not mean much in the overall scheme of life, but they are a sign of the times. Flash games today are just one more step in the evolution of social commentary, and they certainly won't be the last.